After a particularly grueling afternoon of 3-year-old tantrums and sibling battles, a glass of chocolate milk is spilled–seemingly on purpose– all over the floor, and I find myself at the mercy of maternal rage. “G-d—it!” I yell, releasing pent-up fury. “WHY do I have to clean up your mess all the time!?” Poor Carmen’s eyes [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Parenting'
The Therapy Jar
October 13th, 2010 1 Comment
Tags: mothering guilt · My Hollywood · Parenting · Philip Larkin · psychotherapy · therapy
Advice From the Trenches
August 11th, 2010 No Comments
If you’ve ever picked up a magazine at the pediatrician’s office, you know that the glossies are full of parenting tips and advice. Five Simple Steps to Get Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night! Top Ten Ways to Raise a Happy Child! Magazine editors love bullet points, solutions, and sound-bytes. They know how to [...]
Tags: advice · Mom-Coma · Parenting · parenting experts
Zoo Story
July 14th, 2010 1 Comment
By the end of the day, I’d lost it completely. My façade of patience had melted, and I trudged through the hot hordes of Saturday zoo-goers, wielding the black double stroller like a weapon. But taking the girls to New York City for the weekend was an ambitious plan. “Only people who aren’t New Yorkers [...]
Tags: anticipation · Bronx Zoo · Eckhart Tolle · New York · Parenting
For Better or For What?
January 3rd, 2010 1 Comment
As the country debates Marriage as an institution, I consider the state of my own union. Tonight C. nursed to sleep in my arms after a night away. Such sweet reunion. Sometimes she likes to take my lower lip in her mouth and suck on it, laughing. Later, A. wrote me a card because she [...]
Tags: marriage · married with children · Parenting
Been Caught Stealing
November 12th, 2009 1 Comment
Not the Jane’s Addiction song, but a parenting experience at Whippersnappers Kids’ Consignment Shop. I’d dropped off a bag of old clothes to sell (got $11) and convinced A. to try on an adorable, red and black, red-riding-hood style, fleece coat with toggle buttons. She grudgingly put the coat on, then skipped off to the [...]
Tags: Been Caught Stealing · Jane's Addiction · Parenting · shoplifting · Whippersnappers
Still Got Milk?
November 10th, 2009 3 Comments
There were certain things I thought I’d never do when I became a mother. I wouldn’t yell at my children, share my marital bed, or nurse through toddler-hood. As my husband said with authority when we first discussed breastfeeding: “If you can ask for it, then you’re too old for it.” Never say never when [...]
Tags: breastfeeding · c-section · cesarean · nursing · Parenting · toddlers
The Dark Season
October 18th, 2009 1 Comment
Give me October in Vermont and I’ll give you apple-picking, leaf-raking, and blazing orange-red hills. I’ll also give you 35 degrees and raining. This morning I manhandled A. into her winter parka and physically pushed her out the door. She was refusing to go outside due to the cold, and I was having an [...]
Tags: daylight saving time · Parenting · preschooler · winter
Duck Wrestling
September 28th, 2009 1 Comment
Ducky is missing. Again. He’s been MIA for 12 hours– small, nondescript, grayish rag that was once a plush yellow baby present. Two years ago Ducky arrived by mail, silky on one side, soft on the other, a sweet duckling head on a flat handkerchief. Now he’s tattered and worn with holes–my toddler wears [...]
Tags: Baby · duck · lovey · Parenting · transitional object
Picky Eater
September 19th, 2009 1 Comment
I confess, my three-year-old eats only white foods. Despite my early efforts to offer a rainbow at every meal, she now lives on yogurt, bread and butter, pasta, tuna with mayo, crackers, and sometimes mild cheddar. My mom friends are shocked but try not to show it. “Have you tried disguising tiny pieces of broccoli [...]
Tags: Parenting · picky eater · toddlers